The Rings of Eternity
by Calebkir
Summary: A new school in the U.S. opened 5 years ago, and 4 new students are about to embark on thier education, but what happens when a war the school was centered around, begins to stir?
1. Chapter 1: Meetings

_The world belongs to JKR, I own no part of it or her characters. This story is set in the USA, though, and most of the characters and settings are my own._

"As you can see, the facility is comfortable for those orphans found after the war," Said a kind voice as it passed Cale's. Cale didn't pay attention to it; he was busy playing with his two cats, Talon and Ko. It was a game they called mouse toss. Talon would take the toy mouse and bat it towards Cale, who flicked it to Ko. Ko would then grab it in her mouth and shake her black head, letting go at the precise point needed to throw the mouse back to Talon. It was a game they had played for years, ever since they came to live with him at the War orphanage.

"Cale," called the kind voice as the matron knocked on the door. "I have a visitor that would like to talk to you"

"Tell said visitor he can go…" but Cale never finished, for the door crashed open, revealing a stern looking woman in her late fifties. Cale just looked up from his game, knowing that the matron had guessed what he was going to say, for he had developed quite a mouth as of late. It wasn't that he liked to swear, he just hated to be interrupted by anything or anybody. Only Talon and Ko got a pass from it, though they knew better.

"Cale Firefist, I have told you before, no swearing in this facility!" said the matron, her kind voice edged in such away that Cale knew it would be bothersome to do so again. At least until she got out of ear shot. "Anyway," she said, the edge in her voice gone as if it had never been. "I'd like you to meet Mr. Winston. He comes from a school for gifted youngsters, and would like to talk to you about going to it. I'll leave you two some privacy, but don't forget about your summer school homework." And with that, she left, leaving Cale with middle age man with short salt and pepper and goatee. He stood about 2 feet taller than Cale and weighed about two hundred pounds, most of which, he noticed, was not fat.

"Hello," the man said as he walked into the room. "I am Mr. Winston from…"

"'A school for gifted youngsters.' Yeah, I got that," Interrupted Cale. "But there seems to be a couple if slight problems."

"Oh," Mr. Winston replied. "And what problems would those be?"

"One: A school for the "gifted" cost money, I have none, and as far as I know, there are no schools for the "gifted" that I'd go to in the day and age, cause they all sound like schools for either rich snobs or retards. I'm not either."

"Problem one is easy enough to solve. We have a fund set up for those…" he paused. "Less fortunate attendee's, so there will be no problems getting your supplies. As for tuition, there isn't any, so that's covered as well. The second problem is solved by explaining the school and what they teach there."

At this point, somewhat annoyed at being ignored, Ko flung the mouse straight at Cale's face. He caught instinctively with his gloved right hand, wincing slightly as he did so.

"Something wrong with your hand?" Mr. Winston asked, watching Cale's face.

"You could say that," Cale replied softly. He flung the mouse onto his bed saying "Play up there for a bit if ya don't mind, I'll play with you guys after I'm done, K?" Both cats looked at him for a second before leaping onto the bed to continue their game.

Mr. Winston waited patiently for Cale to continue, and after a minute of staring at his hand, Cale said "I don't know how it happened, I was just a baby, but they said it was burned in a fire shortly after I was born. It has healed as much as it can, the doctors say, but the pain will probably never go away. I use my left hand mostly, but my right can do everything the other can," He finished.

"And that's how you got your last name I take it," Mr. Winston stated. "And now, to continue on, this school is not really for "gifted" or "special" students, it's a school of magic."

Cale smiled as he raised his head. "Magic," he said simply.

"Yes, magic," said Mr. Winston. "I have your acceptance letter with me, would you like me to read it to you?"

At that, Cale started laughing. "Well, I thought id do you the courtesy of reading it to you, not many schools would accept a—"

"I'm not blind." Cale had stopped laughing abruptly, a very serious look on his face. "I wear this piece of cloth because my eyes are really light sensitive. Plus, it tends to scare people when they look into my eyes, considering…" he trailed off. "I'll read the letter later and send my reply along, now get out of my room." It wasn't a request.

Cale waited until Mr. Winston left before reaching for the envelope.

_Dracos Academy of Magic_

_Dean: Hayle Ashford_

_(Order of Merlin, 1__st__ Class, Medal of Honor among others)_

_Dear Mr. Firefist,_

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to_

_attend Dracos Academy of Magic. All your school materials_

_are listed on the second sheet of parchment. We understand_

_your situation and have also sent a voucher good for acquiring _

_all your supplies. _

_ The first semester starts on 21 Aug; we expect your reply by_

_the 20__th __of the same month. Also enclosed is you bus ticket, _

_which you will need to keep with you as you as you will not_

_receive another._

_Sincerely,_

_Craig Winston,_

_Assistant Dean_

Cale's heart was beating a tattoo in his chest. Magic. That would explain a lot, he thought. How I'm able to see with this blindfold on, also... He started staring at his dresser, knowing that what was inside was probably not allowed, at least, not yet. He shrugged the gloomy thoughts from his mind and continued reading. After he was done, he went to his desk, picked up a pen, and wrote his reply.

Mr. Winston walked briskly from the orphanage, his thoughts clearly back in the room with that strange boy. He had been told that the boy had an attitude problem, along with some deficiencies in seeing, but from his perspective, the boy saw everything just fine. In fact, Mr. Winston silently told himself, the boy could probably see better than most people, normal or wizard. After Cale had told him to get out, he tried for a few more minutes to talk to him, but he was ignored. And so, a little frustrated, and, (though he'd never admit it to himself) a little intrigued by him, he left Cale's room. He had no doubt he would be getting a reply back, he just hoped it was in time to get the supplies and travel.

As he drove into the city, he reminded himself that he had three more homes to visit before the day was out, so, sighing to himself, he checked the GPS in his car and located the address of lucky student to be number two.

Motoko Ishimora was not born in America, though you could hardly tell that from her perfect english. She was born in Tokyo, Japan 11 years ago today, and, though she usually dreaded her birthday, she was looking forward to it, thinking something had to be different this year. She loved it here in Las Vegas. Sure, kids still picked on her and grown-ups stared, but it was better than what happened in Japan. She was shunned because she was born with a genetic birth defect, to which the doctors had given a complicated name she couldn't remember. With her white hair, chalk white skin and red eyes, her classmates had called her a lot of names: albino, whitey, and ghost among the nicest. She actually didn't mind ghost however, and when she said so, the kids stopped calling her that. What a bunch of idiots, she had thought.

She liked the name ghost because it gave her a sense of mystery. It didn't help that a lot of strange things happened. Sometimes when the boys were chasing her, they'd all trip at once, or she would suddenly be on the other side of the playground. She couldn't explain it, but for some reason she always started to get into trouble for it at home, however. She had developed a knack for lying few could match so she could get out of it, but she thought her parents knew somehow. It was like they were reading her mind.

Sitting at her desk, she had just finished the last of her summer school work, and was about to take a trip down to the kitchen when the door bell rank. She waited, hoping they would go away, as her parent weren't home. After a few more rings, she sighed, got up, and went down the hall to the front door. "Who is it?" she called, one hand on the door, unsure whether or not to open it.

"Mr. Craig Winston from Dracos Academy to see Miss Motoko Ishimora." Said a kind gravely voice.

He sounded honest, and who would know an honest sounding voice better than a person who lies through her teeth ten times a day. "One second," she called. She undid the locks and opened the door, looking up at an older gentleman in a bright blue, three piece suit. He had short, grey hair and a kind face, which was, for the moment anyway, in a state of shock.

"Miss Ishimora?" he said, apparently trying to keep the shock out of his voice. He had failed miserably.

"No," she lied, "My name is Ghost. Motoko went out with her parents and I'm here watching the house. Is there something I can do for you?"

The man shook his head once as if to clear away a thought. "May I come in Miss Ishimora?" he asked.

Great, she thought. Another one who could read minds. "What do you want?" she asked bluntly.

"I'm here to invite you to my school, and need to talk to you and your parents. They should be home, seeing as it's their day off."

"There was an emergency," she said, getting suspicious. Maybe she shouldn't have opened the door. "I'll tell them you came by." And with that, she slammed the door in his face and locked all four of the door locks. Pleased with herself, she went into the kitchen to grab herself a snack. She was half way there when she heard the door locks unlocking.

Turning around, she saw the man walk though the doorway. Panicking, raced into her room and grabbed the phone, dialing 911. It rang twice, then suddenly went dead. She looked up, and there was the old man, pointing a stick of wood at her. She yelped and ran to the corner. "If you come any closer, I'll scream!" she cried.

"Please," he said. "I only mean to talk."

"You broke into my house, and now you want to kidnap me!"

"No, no, no." he said. "I truly mean you no harm."

"Then back up."

He did as he was told. Motoko suddenly had a thought of the sign above her door falling and hitting him in the head. There was a thunk and a thud and the man was on the floor, unconscious, the wooden sign next to him. Gingerly, she walked over to him and nudged him with her foot. "Out cold. Serves you right." She spat.

She thought of calling the police right away, but something told her that he would wake up soon. So, thinking the best method of keeping herself safe was to tie him up, Motoko went to fetch some rope from the closet. After fifteen minutes, she looked at her handy work. No one could get out of those, unless the could use magic. Turning, she picked up the phone and found it was still dead. Well, she thought, he cut the phone lines, but I have a cell. It took her another fifteen minutes to find it. It was only for emergencies so she never really bothered to keep track of it, but to her surprise, it was dead too. She was about to go to a neighbors when the man stirred.

"Oh my head…" he groaned. "What? Who? Why am I tied up!"

"Because you broke into my house and now you are going to jail." She replied. "Count yerself lucky my father isn't home or you would be dead"

"I did it because this is very important!" he said loudly.

"What's so important that you need to cut the phone lines or whatever you did, and breaking into my house?"

"You're a witch!" he almost screamed.

"Why you low life piece of shit! How DARE you call me that!" she screamed, throwing her cell phone and hitting him in the face.

"NO, NO, NO!" panic evident in his voice, " I mean you can do magic!"

She wasn't expecting that. "What are you on? Crack?"

"No, I'm serious." Some of the panic leaving his voice. "Has anything ever happened you couldn't explain?"

"Like a well attached sign falling onto an intruders head? Yeah, it happens occasionally. I'm just lucky like that sometimes."

"I bet you," he said. "that you get lucky at times when you're frightened or angry."

"What are you…" she started, but memories came flooding in. A basketball exploding halfway in the air before it hit her in the face, being suddenly on the other side of the school's fence when two boys were chasing her….

"Magic," she whispered.

"Yes, Magic. You have a gift Miss Ishimora, one a lot of normal people would kill for or worse. I come from a school that will teach you to control this magic, and let you do things you'd only dream of doing."

She stared at him for what must have been hours before saying, "And where is this school?"

"Oregon, where normal people can't find it," he said, his voice panic free. "I have your acceptance letter and will give it to you, if you would believe me and let me up."

"If you're lying to me…"

"You know I'm not." He interrupted.

Definitely one who could read minds, she thought. He did have a point, though, she knew he wasn't lying, or rather, he believed what he was saying. She decided, upon silent reflection, to give him a test. "If you can do magic, untie yourself."

"I can't" he said

"Why not?"

"Because I dropped my wand, if you'll put it in my hand…"

"This thing?" she said, picking up the stick he had earlier pointed at her.

"Yes, thank…"

"So you can't do magic without it?" she asked, a plan forming in her mind.

"No, so if you please, just…"

"What if I broke it?" she asked, putting on her most serious face.

"WHAT?, NO DON'T…!" he shrieked.

He's staring at me like I'm going to kill him, thought Motoko, and if he needs this to do magic, it would probably ruin his life if I broke it. She was starting to have second thoughts about goading him like this, it didn't feel right.

"Oh, I wasn't really going to break it." She said finally. "I was just testing you. Congratulations, you passed."

Relief washed over his face, and Motoko finally conceded that what he was saying was the truth. She bent down to where his hands were tied and loosened the knots. Once free, he slowly sat up, staring at her.

After a long silence, she said "Dad always told me it is hardest to lie when under pressure."

"Very wise man." He said simply. "Now that you believe me, would you like your letter?"

"Sure," she said, "If it checks out, I'll give you back your… wand did you call it?"

"Yes, and that's fine." He said, handing over a slightly large envelope. "You'll find all the details in there, but we'll still have to ask your parents if you can go."

"Oh, they'll say yes." She said as she opened the letter. She found two pieces of paper along with a bus ticket that said that her bus was leaving the morning of the twenty first of August. As she read, she got unexpectantly excited. She could do magic!

"Well," she said, keeping her voice as calm as possible. "I'll talk to my parents and convince them that I should go, but…."

"What is it?" the old man asked.

"Where am I going to get all this stuff? I don't know of any shops in Vegas that sells any of it."

"Oh!" he said, visibly relaxing. "I'll take you to the place where it can all be found, if you like. I'm taking couple of other students there as well, if you'd like to join us?"

She looked up at him, trepidation flowing through her. "What other students?"

"Ones from normal families, like yourself. I have already delivered one besides yours, and I have another two to deliver today… Or, at least I would have delivered them today…" he said quietly.

She looked at her clock on her desk and saw it was almost nine o'clock. Where had the time gone? "I'm sorry," she said meekly.

"No worries, no worries," he said smiling. "I'll deliver them tomorrow. How about we set up a time on Friday to meet with your parents so they know what is going on?"

"Alright." She said, smiling back at him.

"But first…" he paused, "May I have my wand back now?"

She laughed. What a Birthday!

Craig was thought he was going to have a nervous break down. First, there was Cale, who wasn't too friendly, but believed him almost immediately. Then there was Motoko, who had knocked him out, tied him up and threatened to break his wand before she finally believed him. Then, three days ago, he met Jak. He thought he was finally going have a normal delivery, until the Police showed up with a warrant for his arrest. He had quickly modified their memories and escaped, not even waiting for a reply from Jak or his mother.

The worst though was Lucinda Thomas. After what seemed like a normal delivery, he had stopped for gas, and found his wallet missing. Going back to the car, he tried to pull out his wand to summon it, when to his horror, he found that was gone as well. In fact, everything he was carrying before he went to Lucinda's house was gone. When he finally got back to her house, (he had run out of gas and had to take a cab and two busses,) she had handed everything back to him in a small box, saying thanks for the practice.

All in all, he was dreading tomorrow when they would all meet and go shopping for their school supplies, but, like always, time sped up and the next thing he knew, he was pulling up to Meadows Mall in Las Vegas. After finding a parking spot, he checked to make sure he had everything. His wand was secured on a leather harness to his left arm, and his wallet and cell phone in his briefcase along with the vouchers Cale needed. After a few seconds of staring at them, he realized he did not want Cale to use them. Instead, he thought, I'll buy everything for him. He's had a hard enough life, and maybe it'll get him to warm up to me a little.

He got out of the car and walked along the parked cars until he came to the front entrance. He knew something was wrong as he approached the doors. Just inside, there was a group of people around what looked like the aftermath of a fight. As he walked by, what he saw nearly made him scream in frustration. Lucinda was in handcuffs against one wall, the mall security yelling at her and her father and Jak was being restrained by five or six people, apparently trying to get to someone beyond the crowd.

In the middle of the crowd, being put on a stretcher was a man that was knocked out, blood all over his face and clothes, and, in the corner, Craig saw Cale, cradling his right hand in obvious pain, with Motoko sitting next to him, apparently trying to comfort him.

It was all too much. "WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!!" he yelled. Jak stopped struggling, Motoko looked up and Lucinda yelled his name. "Jak, Cale, Motoko, come here, security, release my student now!" It had taken a while to get everyone together, after which, everyone started to talk at once.

"He grabbed her…" said Cale weakly, still cradling his right hand.

"She picked his pocket!" yelled Jak.

"I was going to give it back!" wailed Lucinda.

"ENOUGH!" Craig screamed. "The only one who doesn't seem to have lost his or her head is Motoko, so she will explain." He couldn't believe he had just said that, for, wasn't it Motoko who had knocked HIM out and hog tied him?

And so, the story unfolded. Motoko was waiting on Craig and the rest when she saw that Jak had arrived with his father, Sean. They were waiting quietly when Lucinda walked up behind Sean and picked his pocket. Jak had seen this and informed his father, who grabbed Lucinda and started shaking her roughly. Cale then arrived, saw the whole thing, and went to stop him, grabbing Sean's arm. Sean, seeing a boy telling him to stop, slapped Cale's gloved hand, which caused him to scream in pain. Cale then hit Sean with the offended hand and Sean was knocked out. For one moment Jak, Lucinda and Motoko were stunned at what had happened, when Cale collapsed to the floor, releasing them from their shock. That's when security arrived and Craig had shown up not long after.

Craig had listened to Motoko, his eyes growing wider and wider with each passing sentence. When she had finished, trying to keep his voice steady, he said, "Ok, look. Lucinda did the same thing to me earlier, but returned all my stuff as it was when she took it, it's a game for her. Cale has problems with his right hand and even the slightest movement causes him pain. What Lucinda did was wrong…"

"I knew it!" ejaculated Jak.

"But what your father did was even more wrong Jak," Craig continued. "Now, Lucinda, I want you to apologize to Jak for stealing his fathers wallet."

"Oh, I didn't steal his wallet," said Lucinda innocently. "I actually grabbed his watch and, while he was shaking me, his cell phone. But don't worry," she added hastily, seeing an ugly look from Jak. "I put them down his shirt before security arrived. I do apologize for making a scene, and I'm sorry your hand got hurt Cale. Now that we are all friends, lets go shopping!"

Craig just stared at the girl.

_This is the first chapter of my first fan-fic, so be gentle with the reviews, k?_


	2. Chapter 2: Games and Light

_The world belongs to JKR; I own no part of it or her characters. An eighteen year-old soldier in basic training, however, thought up my Characters._

Chapter two: Games and Light

Mr. Craig Winston had just threatened to cancel the shopping trip if they didn't apologize to each other, which was ludicrous, thought Jak, as he did nothing wrong. Sure, he wanted to beat the blind kid to a pulp for knocking his day out cold, but he didn't actually do it. Lucinda apologized to Jak for making a scene, and then apologized to Cale for his hurt hand. Jak said nothing as he waited on Cale's apology to him for the swift KO of his father.

"Not going to happen," said Cale quietly.

"Listen, Cale…" started Mr. Winston

"No, you listen. He was hurting her, and even if she did steal from him, that's no way to treat a girl. He had his chance to let her go, and he decided to hurt me. He deserved it."

Jak almost stared at the boy. He spoke with determination that said he knew he was right, and that no one could tell him differently. Jak really didn't care too much about his father; it was only because it was his father's turn to have him for the weekend that Sean was here with him. Three years ago, his mother had divorced him, and the custody battle lasted for a year, during which Jak had found out the true story of the separation: Sean had no qualms about hitting women. When the courts finally decided to let his mom have him, he was thrilled. He was less than thrilled moments later when they told him that Sean would have him one weekend a month. Cale was not like Sean.

"He doesn't have to apologize," said Jak, cutting across Mr. Winston as he berated Cale. "He was right, Sean was wrong, and I apologize for wanting to beat you senseless."

Cale looked at him for a second before turning to Mr. Winston. "Guess those that are going to apologize, have, so we should get going. We have a lot to get if all four of us are going to the Academy."

"You know them then?" asked Mr. Winston.

"No, but you called everyone by name, and called her," he pointed at Lucinda, "your student to security, we are all about the same age, and we are all waiting for you to show us where we can get our stuff to do…" he trailed off.

Mr. Winston stood there looking at each face in turn, and, even though he wore a blindfold, Jak saw that Cale was more excited then the rest to get his stuff. "Well, alright, follow me." He said, admitted defeat, and started walking toward the elevator on the first floor.

Jak followed a little behind the group, his mind finally gripping that he would be spending the day without Sean, and wanting it to last all day. As for the school supplies, his mother had given him enough money for two people. He thought that if things went well, he'd treat them all to lunch or something. Mr. Winston certainly looked like he could have something good happen to him.

"Hurry up Jak!" called Mr. Winston.

That had snapped Jak back to reality, and he climbed in the elevator just as the door closed. He found that they were the only ones in there and watched as Mr. Winston touched his wand to the first floor, emergency stop, then open door buttons.

"Now I want you guys to stick close to me, this mall is really popular with the wizarding community of the states, so there's bound to be a lot of people in there." He said as the door opened. They were greeted by, in Jak's opinion, the most wonderful sight he had ever seen.

The mall seemed bigger than the mall above it, and it didn't look like it was underground. The ceiling had been made to look like the sky on a warm sunny day, and there were so many interesting shops and people, that Jak was getting dizzy just turning and looking at everything. "Welcome," said Mr. Winston, "to the Mall of Wonders."

Everywhere he looked, Jak saw something different. The fountain in the middle of a large courtyard was letting out jets of water, but instead of just going up and down, the formed words, advertising such shops as Healthy Foods Anonymous, Get your sweets here!, and Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, Las Vegas Branch. The shops all had things that Jak wanted to buy, from a set of marbles that spit goo at people, to quills made of sugar. His restraint for spending all of his money immediately was tested when he passed what looked like a sporting good store and saw a broom; a sign above it read "Firebolt, International Standard Racing Broom"

"Now, Now, there will be plenty of time to spend the rest of your money after you buy your supplies." Said Mr. Winston, pointing to the first stop on their trip, a store called Wizardback Books.

Lucinda was happy, though this was hardly a surprise to anyone who knew her, as she was always happy. However, her happiness increased ten times already, and they haven't even started shopping! She now had three new interesting friends, Cale, gloved hand and blind folded (though she thought he wasn't blind by the way he moved), Motoko, whiter than anyone she had ever met, and Jak, though quiet now, was one of the first to actually catch her taking something before she put it back.

That was her game, seeing what she could take, watching everyone's reaction, then putting it back. She had been labeled a thief by most of the adults she knew, but she didn't care, they only caught her while putting it back or way after the fact. It amused her to no end, and she was really good at it. She had gotten watches, wallets and cell phones from people, candy clothes and toys from stores. Her biggest accomplishments were the mountain bike from Wal-Mart, her teacher's desk drawers (during class no less), and, of course, Mr. Winston's wand.

When Mr. Winston had told her she could do magic, she nearly exploded she was so happy. After he managed to calm her down, she asked him to demonstrate. She saw Mr. Winston reach into his coat and pull out a wand, then; pointing it at the worn sofa she was sitting on, made it as good as new. After that, she wanted to try it herself, but Mr. Winston had refused. She then rifled through the working plans in her mind on how best to get the wand; foremost in her mind was the "distract and grab" method. Nodding to herself, she ran over and hugged Mr. Wilson, grabbing everything he had in his pockets in the process.

After he left, she took out the wand and swished it around, sending green and blue sparks out the end. Laughing, she pointed it at the old, now new, sofa and thought it would be better if it was leather. When Mr. Winston finally pulled up, she had everything she took in a box, and said thanks for the practice. The practice being that every piece of furniture in her house (along with quite a few clothes) was now made of multiple colors of leather.

All in all, she was so happy she could barely stand herself, which, she thought, means everyone else won't be able to stand me. She needed to calm down. She took a deep breath and held it until they were in the bookstore. What she saw made her lose her concentration and expel all air from her lungs. Books were shelves much too tall for an ordinary store, and had subjects no normal person in their right mind would purchase. _Dark Wizards and how they fell, Jinx for the Jinxed, Everybodies Favorite Magical Meals, _and _What Dark Creatures Live in Your House and What to do About Them were_ the ones that stood out in her mind. She hated books, but these were Magic books, and anything about magic had to be interesting.

She was about to take one of the books that looked really interesting (_The art of Disappearing, _by _Anonymous)_, when she notice a man alone in long black robes. He was completely immersed in a book and looked like the perfect mark.

A minute later, she grabbed a small, leather bound book, and called, "Cale, catch!" tossing the book at him. He did three things almost simultaneously, first pushing Motoko out of the way, then catching the book in his right hand, and last, (but loudest) swearing like a pro.

"Oh! I'm sorry Cale!" she said as she ran over to him. "I thought your other hand was empty…"

"Obviously not…" he said.

"She said she was sorry, Cale," Motoko admonished.

"I know," he said. "Next time though, if ya think that I might like a book, hand it to me instead, k?"

"Oh no, you got me wrong again! I was just confirming that you can see just fine. Anyway, look at this." She said, holding up her latest acquisition. "What do you think? I think it's made of Oak, it certainly longer than Mr. Winston's."

"Oh. My. God. Lucinda," Motoko hissed. "You stole a wand?"

"Actually, it looks to be made of holly," said Cale, turning it over in his hand. "It's really powerful, but…"

"If you wanted to see it, you could of asked," said a voice. All three looked up and Lucinda saw the man she had taken the wand from. "If I could have it back please." He didn't sound too mad.

"I was going to return it," explained Lucinda, and before she could stop herself, she started rifling off questions, as fast as she could ask them. "Where'd you get it? Is it made of holly or oak? Who made it for you? Where are you from? How many spells do you know? Where'd you learn it all? What's your name anyway?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said throwing his hands up as if to block an incoming spell. "Slow down there speedy."

Just then, Mr. Winston and Jak came back, laden with books. "Everything all right you three?" He said.

"Just fine," said the man, "I just came over to retrieve my wand."

All the books dropped out of Mr. Winston's hands with a loud crash. He turned and started to apologize to the man profusely, saying it was a game she played, there was no harm done, and would he accept his humble apologizes for the actions of his new student.

"Oh!" exclaimed the man. "You are showing Muggle-Borns around."

Mr. Winston looked curiously at the man before understanding dawned on his face. "You must be from England I take it?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm here on a business trip and thought id see what all the fuss was about with this mall, walked into the bookstore, and your…"

"What's that on your forehead?" Cale interjected.

"On my forehead…" and Lucinda watched as his hand went unconsciously to place Cale had pointed out. He looked at Cale for a moment, shook his head as though hardening his resolve, and looked at his watch. "Look at the time!" he exclaimed. "How bout I treat you all to lunch and I'll answer any questions you have for me."

Lucinda smiled, and saw everyone around her (besides Cale, he looked like he was concentrating on the man) stutter "Thank you and you shouldn't's"

"No, no, I insist. It's been awhile since anyone got the best of me, and you guys look like you need a break anyway, well… "He paused, looking at Mr. Winston, "One of you does anyway."

They walked down the mall, looking for a place to eat, when the man suggested a nice sit down lunch. The chose a quiet restaurant and took a seat in the far back, the man facing the door.

"We may not be able to finish today," said Craig. "I'm going to call your parents and tell them we may have to continue this tomorrow." He glanced at the man.

"Don't worry," said Cale, "he won't try anything."

He spoke with such certainty, that Mr. Winston just nodded and started towards the phones. He knew who that man was, and was sure of Cale's word. He didn't want to say anything in the store, as it might cause a scene. Harry Potter was, after all, a world famous celebrity.

Now that he's out of the way, thought Cale, I can finally see this guy. With that, he started to loosen the knot on his blindfold. He paused once to order his food, and Motoko looked and him strangely. It had been so long since had last taken it off that the knot was stuck and it had taken him a couple of minutes to get it. Finally loosened, he said, "Sir."

"Call me Harry, Cale." Said the man.

"Fine. Harry, I'm going to take off my blindfold so I can see you properly, so please don't be alarmed." He didn't manage to take the quiver of fear out of his voice, but he doubt anyone had heard it.

"Alright then, when ev… HOLY SHIT!" he yelled as he jumped up, drew his wand, and pointed it at Cale's chest. Cale's brow furrowed and his right hand twitched. Cale knew what startled him: His eyes. The weren't like normal eyes, they had neither pupil nor iris and the whites were blood red, though he didn't expect this much of a reaction. Motoko just stared, mouth slightly open, but it wasn't in fear, only wonderment. Lucinda was smiling, as usual. He guessed she was happy about being proved right that he could see. Cale couldn't read Jak's face, but knew this was a shock to him.

The silence raged for what seemed like hours, finally, Harry lowered his wand and sat back down. He was tall and thin, with messy black hair and green eyes that shown what a difficult life he had. It was the mark on his forehead that intrigued Cale the most though. Shaped like a bolt of lightning it slightly glowed green to Cale, he knew it to be a scar of magic. He had one too, though his right hand was easier to cover up.

Harry looked at Cale for a moment before saying simply, "Sorry"

"It's alright. I know it's a shock, but I had to see what was causing the green light that obscured your face, and I couldn't do that with the blindfold on"

"Green light?" his puzzlement reached his eyes.

"Coming from your scar."

"Wait, what? There's no light coming from my scar. Is there?" He sounded worried.

"Oh, I doubt it. I think it's a light only I can see. When I'm blindfolded, I see differently than other people. It's been like that ever since the fire, or so they tell me."

"What fire?"

"The one they pulled me out of before the war ended. It killed my mother, didn't leave a trace of anything, names, records, nothing was found. I was born a week before it happen, and have been living in an orphanage since. They knew my first name to be Cale, cause the clothes I was wearing had that name on the tag."

When Motoko finally realized what she was seeing and hearing, there were tears in her eyes. Her life was easy compared to his. She had a loving mother and father who didn't care what she looked like, just that she was alive. Cale didn't have such, and having those eyes and his hand must have made it unbearable, no wonder he had a hard edge about him.

"I don't know what to say," said Harry. He thought for a moment before adding, "What about your father?"

Cale merely shrugged. So he didn't know his father either, thought Motoko, and with everyone around a stranger, Cale's life must have been lonely as hell.

"Well, if it's any comfort, I didn't know my parents either. They were killed when I was a year old."

"Killed?" said Cale, curiosity heavy in his voice. "Someone killed them?"

"Yeah, then tried to kill me, the result is him almost being destroyed and this lightning scar on my head. The spell he used shoots a green light, which must be why that's the color of the aura around it."

"You said 'almost destroyed'" Motoko jumped, for Jak had finally said something.

"Yes, it's a long drawn out story, but the quick version is, he survived, came back, and I had to face him." He sounded like he had told the story many times, but the telling never got any easier for him it seemed.

"You beat him didn't you," Lucinda questioned.

"Yes, but I still see remnants of him now and again. I saw his old wand in the hands of the man leading the resistance of another war twelve years ago. He told me to keep it quiet, but there's no need anymore. The wand was snapped in half by the time the final battle raged." He sighed, maybe we shouldn't be bringing these memories back, Motoko thought, it would be painful enough living through one war, let alone two.

"But anyway, what about your hand?" asked Harry.

"Burned in the fire. Most of the skin was burned off, and it looks like is covered in a white tissue."

"Hmm… I can't do anything about your eyes, but maybe I can work something out with your hand, maybe help the skin grow back a bit? I'll need to see it and examine it, first though. With your permission, of course."

Cale looked at Harry for a moment. "After we eat." He said, looking up and seeing the waitress with his food.

It had occurred to Jak that he was probably eating with the strangest group of people in the world. Cale was considered by Jak to be the strangest, though Motoko could give him a run for his money. As he ate, Jak came to a realization about Cale: He didn't care what others thought of him. He had long black hair that looked like it had never been cut in his life, tied back in a tail that reached near to the small of his back. His arms looked thin and gave the impression that he didn't like the sun or outdoors much, but were nowhere near white as Motoko was.

As the thought came to him, his eyes shifted onto the pale girl. Besides skin color, it was like looking into a film negative of Cale. While Cale carried himself like he didn't care, Motoko obviously cared what others thought of her. It was written on her face and her body movements like she wore her emotions as clothing.

"What do you think Jak?" someone said, breaking him out of his trance-like state.

"What?" he started, nearly dumping his spaghetti all over the table.

"What type of wand do you think you are going to get?" questioned Lucinda. "I think I'm going to get a nice long one, or one made of…"

She was talking at an incredible rate, even though she looked the most normal of them all. Short brown hair framed a slightly pudgy face with round eyes and a small, sharp nose. If it wasn't for the fact her voice was so high, and her name was a girls name, he would have thought she was a boy. A very energetic boy. She seemed to have more energy than all of the people at the table combined, and her meal was seemingly done before everyone had started. That, in and of itself, was amazing, because she never stopped talking.

He looked down at his own food and was amazed he had already eaten as much as he did. His plate was empty, save for a few lone strands of noodles, garlic bread and a lone meatball. A movement out of the corner of his eye made him look up at Cale, who was finished with his meal and was now painstakingly restoring his blind-fold to its proper place. His right hand twitched in an odd way and Jak heard a clink of fork on plate. Looking down, he found his meatball dodging a fork, one with Lucinda's hand attached to it.

"Hey!" he yelled.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were finished, and ya can't just let food go to waste, ya know," she said innocently. "But, for some reason, your food doesn't seem to like me."

He chuckled slightly at that and resumed eating what was left, listening on the conversation. Motoko was talking about her new books with Cale, who seemed to be holding the conversation well, even though his snide remarks would have made the most patient of friends smack him clear to next week. Lucinda was talking to no one in particular about everything, skipping from football, to television, to psychics, to the new school and everything in between. Mr. Harry, listened, and answered her questions after he tore his eyes away from Cale, to whom he seemed curious, and, unless Jak was mistaken, a little disturbed.

They were about to pick up and go look for Mr. Winston, when a waiter came by and gave a phone to Mr. Harry, saying it was an urgent call from Mr. Winston. After a few "er's", "Okay's", and "sure's", Mr. Harry made an announcement that would mean a whole lot more fun.

"Well, Mr. Winston wanted to tell you four that he won't be back, as something came up at the school," he said. "so he asked me to watch over you for the rest of the day."

At this, there was a mixed reaction. Lucinda cheered saying Mr. Harry would be a lot more fun than Mr. Winston, who couldn't take a joke, and Cale asked about the vouchers, apparently concerned about getting his supplies. Mr. Harry said he would pay for everything and Mr. Winston would reimburse him later, though Jak didn't think Mr. Harry would accept it. Motoko didn't say a word, but looked at Cale with what Jak assumed was a sorrowful expression, though it could've been pity.

"So," asked Mr. Harry, "Where do you guys want to go first?"

Jak thought about this as he tried to ignore Lucinda. He really wanted to go to the sporting goods store he saw earlier, as he wondered what kind of sports were in the wizarding world, and whether any of the sports were played at the school. He was about to say so when Cale spoke up.

"I want go buy a wand," he said.

"A wand, huh?" said Mr. Harry. "Probably best to go there, it might take a while."

"Why's that Mr. Harry?" Jak asked.

"Someone once told me: 'The wand chooses the wizard', and it usually takes a while before you get the right one," he said "It took me at least an hour before Ollivander found one that was perfect for me."

"Ollivander?"

"A wand maker in England, one of the best, though he retired a few years ago."

And so, after a few more questions about wands, Mr. Harry took them to an old shop near the end of the mall. Looking around the front of the store, Jak couldn't find what the place was named, but knew it was a wand shop, for there, in the window, was a wand sitting on a red velvet cushion. It was about twelve inches long, steel grey, and looked like it had some weight to it. Intricate carvings covered the wand and it seemed to pulse with power the more he looked at it.

Cale was looking at it too, though his expression, which usually said little about him, was plain on his face. There was excitement, and, if Jak didn't know better, fear. 'What could possibly make this boy feel fear at a wand?' he thought to himself. 'They're just sticks of wood.' He told Cale, who merely shook his head and followed the others inside.

Upon entering the shop, Motoko knew why Harry had said it would take a while. The front lobby was moderately furnished with six old looking chairs around a coffee table, a lamp, and a television that looked like it hadn't been used in ages. The counter where they now stood waiting was of polished redwood, and displayed the various things used in creating a wand, each with its own label. Among the woods used were cherry, holly, redwood and oak of various shades that one wood find naturally in the wild. Samples of the cores used in wand making were on display in a small stand up display case and had things like salamander tails, manticore quills, unicorn tail hairs, and phoenix tail feathers among many others. She was looking at the cores wondering what would go in her wand, when a door closed, announcing the arrival of the shop's owner.

"Good afternoon," she said. She was a plump, older woman with a kind face and a musical voice with white hair and soft, comforting eyes. "Welcome to Holiday's. My name is Marie, how may I help you?"

"Good afternoon," said Harry. "We need four wands for the start of school."

"Ah," she said, looking at each in turn. "Well, for first timers we have a special method we use to determine what wand they will get, cause the first wand is usually the hardest to acquire. Now, who's the first?"

Lucinda was jumping up and down with her hand raised in the air, "Me! Me!" she said excitedly. Jak was also had his hand in the air, but had refrained from the jumping or from saying anything. Motoko said nothing, as she didn't want her nervousness to show, and continued to look at the wand ingredients.

"Motoko," stated Cale.

She looked up and saw Cale pointing right at her.

"Alright then, Miss Motoko can go first," said Marie. "If you'll come with me," and she led her behind the counter to a small hallway. After a minute, they came to a small door, and entered a small room, which had two chairs on either side of a small display case resting on a table.

"Have a seat," she said kindly, "and we'll get started."

"Umm… Miss Marie?" Motoko said, not quite keeping the worry or nervousness out of her voice.

"Don't worry, I've helped many new wizards and witches get their first wand, you have nothing to fear. Now, if you'll just hold this for me for a second." She said, holding out a small cylinder of wood.

"Just hold it?"

"Yes," Marie said. "This will be the handle of your wand. Once I've cast a charm while you are holding it, it will conform to your hand, giving me a handle that will be the most comfortable handle you will ever get."

"Okay," she said, reaching out to grab the as yet unformed handle. It wasn't in her hand for more than a few seconds when Marie touched it with her wand, and it grew warm. It startled Motoko and she almost dropped it, but found she couldn't let go even if she wanted. Growing warmer by the second, it started to form to her hand, shrinking in places while growing in others. After about a minute, it suddenly grew cold, and Motoko realized she could hold onto it for a long time before it ever became uncomfortable.

"Now that was cool," she said, the fear draining out of her.

"Thank you," said the other. "Now, we will now decide on which wood your wand needs to be. This is a simple test, all you have to do is, when I turn out the lights, feel inside this display case and pick the one piece that feels the best to you. After that, we then start testing for a core, which, I'm sorry to say, is going to take the longest, as to test for a core, you need to try each in turn."

"What if I can't find one?" Motoko said timidly

"Don't worry, dear," Marie said. "We'll try my entire stock, and if there isn't one for you here, I'll make you one that will work, free of charge. That's our guarantee."

Waiting is the worst thing in the world, especially when something important is going to happen. All life changing moments happen at different times for different reasons, some of which you can't control. In all of those moments there is a point where you know it is going to happen, but whether it is bad or good, you have to wait for it. The wait may last the second you realize something is going to happen, or it may last for years, but it is always there, and people always wait.

To some people, waiting is a fact of life. They wait patiently, deal with the problem or enjoy the fun, and start waiting for the next life changing moment to arrive. Other's think it is a waste of time to wait, and do whatever is necessary to either speed it up, or keep busy, ensuring that if the moment is bad, they will have a cushion to fall on, or if it is good, they have the most fun possible. There is a third group of people, however, who take it upon themselves to have the most fun while waiting. These people are sometimes thought to have attention deficit disorder, but it couldn't be further from the truth. These people hate boredom, and will do anything to alleviate, what is in their minds, the worst form of torture imagined. One of the last people you'd want in the third group is certain, very talented, thief.

So we find Lucinda.

She had already figured out how to open the display case on the counter (she didn't though, as Harry was watching her closely), talked to Harry about the wizarding world, picked his pocket, examine everything she found, then put it back. She had just asked Harry what an auror was, and was listening to him talk about his work when Cale drew her eye.

Cale had been in the same spot since Motoko went back to get her new wand, which was behind the front display where the odd wand was in the window. Seeing his look of indecision, she waited for Harry to complete his explanation before get up and skipping over next to Cale. "Whatcha looking at?" she asked.

"The wand," he said, as if stating the obvious.

"It looks heavy," she said. "I mean, look. It has made an impression on the cushion."

"That's not a cushion."

"What is it then?"

"Seems to be a block of metal made to look like one," said Cale. "Do me a favor, move a little to the left."

"Ooooo, you're gonna try and take it aren't ya?"

"Look who's talking," he shot back. "Just do it, I just want to see how heavy it really is."

"Alright, I'll even tell you when Harry and Jak aren't looking this way, but I want to see how heavy it is also."

"Deal."

After a minute or so, Lucinda gave the signal, and Cale reached out with his left hand. Slowly he wrapped his hands around the end of the wand, and was about to pick it up when he heard aloud thump behind him. Turning around he saw an enormously fat man had just fallen to his knees just inside the shop. He was breathing hard, as though he ran a mile to get here at the right time. Wand in hand, Cale walked over to him, knelt down, and started to ask the man if he was alright. He stopped half way through, for the man had looked up at him, his eyes rolling up into his skull, and grabbed Cale's right hand.

The world exploded in pain and light.

_A.N. Ok, be real with me in your reviews, it only helps me. I plan to post a chapter for validation on the Wednesday after the previous one has been validated. Note: The best-laid plans are always thwarted by that which we cannot see, so I apologize in advance if I am late._


	3. Chapter 3: Intersting Days

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of JKR's material, (which is to say I don't own Harry, the general world or any other thing she made up) but I do lay claim to my characters, the plot, and my setting._

Chapter Three: Interesting Days

It was a force unlike Lucinda had ever felt. Strong and forceful, yet caring and patient, it was the kind of force you'd feel from a father, yet on completely different level. She started to back away, not knowing what the force wanted. –Maybe,- she thought, -it wants my life.- She quickly squashed this thought, it didn't feel like the kind of force that killed, though she kept backing away. On and on the force continued to push, until she found she could back up no more. She started to grow desperate, and, as soon as the feeling hit her, she started to push back. It was like trying to push a car with no wheels. Thinking quickly, she realized she had one last option available, and that was to take the power, but it was gone before the thought had fully formed.

In all of Harry Potter's thirty nine years he had never seen an event like the one that had just occurred. He was talking with Jak about Quidditch, when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Cale reaching up and trying to grab the wand in the window. He was about to stop him when the enormously fat wizard walked in the door, fell to his knees, and grabbed Cale's right hand. Cale gasped, then went utterly still, apparently staring at the man, who had started speaking in a hoarse voice that he had heard only twice before in his life.

He spoke of things that were meant to be, things that must be accomplished, and a Wizard who no one knew his name. During the telling of what Harry could only assume to be a prophecy, the hand grabbing Cale's started to smoke. At the utterance of the last syllable, every one of the children were thrown into a wall with such resounding force that Harry feared for their lives. The man, however, was gone; a smoking pile of ash where he was kneeling was all that was left of him.

Everything became still, a resounding echo of silence you'd here after a loud explosion permeated the shop. Shaking himself slightly, he checked on the young ones, they were alive, yet unconscious. Containing the pile of ash using a spell learned through basic Auror training, he went to the back to check on the one who was not in sight.

A huge disturbance caused Motoko to stir in her sleep, the disturbing dream of power fading into memory. She remembered that she didn't want the power, for too much power (which this was certainly way too much) only caused pain and suffering of those close to a person, and rejected it. As she awoke, she realized she didn't remember falling asleep, and, upon opening her eyes, found she was on the floor leaning against the darkened room's wall.

"Only one person in the back at a time, sir." she heard a voice call. It must be Miss Marie, coming to have her try yet another wand. She had tried what seemed like twenty wands so far, and was starting to get a little worried. She didn't mind not paying for a wand, but if she couldn't find one while they were here, she would have to wait till one was made. Who knows how long that would take, she thought ruefully.

"It's an emergency," said an anxious sounding Mr. Harry.

Motoko tried to stand up and found her body was incredibly sore, like someone had used her as crash test dummy. She was about to give up when she felt strong hands help her up into the chair she had been sitting on before.

"Oh my god, Miss Motoko! Are you alright?" Miss Marie exclaimed, rushing over to her side.

"I'm…" started Motoko, and before she could say fine, she was retching all of the wonderful lunch she had just eaten all over Miss Marie. After throwing up what seemed like all of last week's meals, she looked up, tears streaming in her eyes. "Sorry," she said.

"It's okay," Miss Marie smiled. "It cleans up easily enough." From the sleeve of her robe she produce a wand, mutter a spell, and the vomit had vanished with in a blink of an eye. "There, no harm, no foul." She paused a second before saying, "Would you like to continue?" she asked, as though nothing had happened.

"We can?" said Motoko.

"Sure, hun, if you feel up to it."

"Of course," she lied. She really wanted to go home, for if this was what a daily life of a witch was, she wasn't sure if wanted it any more.

"Alright then, try this one." Miss Marie said, handing her a wand.

Motoko took it and a sudden warmth grew about her. She knew this wand was hers. It was made of white oak, about ten and a half inches long, and surprisingly flexible. She lifted it in the air and bright blue sparks came out the end, the wand obviously pleased with its new master.

"Congratulations, dear. Now, lets go to the front, I'm sure your friends would want to see it." Said Miss Marie. "Your escort went back to the front to get the next lucky customer, I think."

Cale was running on a dirt field he knew to be by the orphanage. How he got there or why he was running were of little concern to him, for, he wasn't running in fear, but in happiness. It was a wonderful feeling he never got to experience much, so he enjoyed it while it lasted. Up ahead, he saw what he was running towards. Four people he knew to be friends were on the top of a small hill, laughing playfully, probably at something Lucinda had said. He recognized Motoko and Jak along with Lucinda, but there was three others he couldn't make out, their faces shrouded in a veil. His heart leapt with joy as he picked up the pace, eager to be by their side, laughing along with them. The six all looked up as one, and started to call Cale.

"Cale"

"I'm coming," he called.

"Cale"

"Going as fast as I can…"

"Wake up!" called Motoko.

"What…" he said. With that, he tripped on a bush, and instinctively put out his hands to stop his face from colliding with the hard earth. As soon as he realized what was going to happen, he knew the pain would come, and come it did. Full blown, all out pain like he never felt before. It was worse than when Jaks' dad slapped his hand.

"Cale! Wake Up!"

Wait, he thought, is this a dream? But if it was a dream, why would he feel this pain is intently and not be wake unless….

The pain was in both the dream and the real world.

As soon as the thought hit him, he found himself lying on a hard wood floor, looking up at three anxious faces. Motoko, Jak, and Lucinda were all around him, each with a different look on their face.

"Are you alright?" Motoko asked quietly.

Not wanting to answer, he sat up and took in his surroundings. In the corner, next to the door, sat a glowing pile he guessed was the man that had grabbed him. Well, he thought, probably deserved what he got. He shook his head in disgust at himself. A life was a life, no matter how much pain one caused on another. He tore his senses from the pile and looked at the four figures next to the pile. There was Harry, Miss Marie and two other official looking men talking in low voices. He was able to get the last of their conversation as the broke up.

"I'll take responsibility," said Harry. "There's no need to question to question him, because I doubt even he knows what happened." He finished and began to walk over to the small group.

"Alright then, Cale?" he said.

The second time he was asked caused to him to do a mental examination of himself. He was bruised a bit on his back, and his hand hurt, but other than that, he saw no lasting damage. He looked more intently at his hand, finding a few small cuts in the scar tissue but his glove was… gone.

When searching for something, it was always in the last place you looked, or that's what Motoko's dad had always taught her. She always thought it was a bunch of nonsense, and today was no different. They had searched every inch of the store lobby, but couldn't find Cale's glove, and now it was almost time for them to go home. The trip had been an unmitigated disaster, and they were all happy to leave the mall and not look back, until they realized they would have to come back for the rest of their supplies. After the 'mess' was cleaned up, Mr. Harry took Cale out to buy a new glove, while Miss Marie took Jak to the back to select his wand.

Lucinda and Motoko had waited for nearly twenty minutes when Cale and Mr. Harry came walking in the door, their arms full of supplies and Cale sporting a sleek black leather glove on his right hand.

"Just soak it in there at night till I send it to you, okay?" Mr. Harry asked Cale.

"Okay," said Cale.

"And don't forget your promise," continued Mr. Harry.

Cale looked up at him, and, without his usual harsh tone, said, "I always repay my debts."

Mr. Harry smiled at this and walked over to sit in a chair. "I hope you two don't mind, we got most of your supplies while searching for a glove for Cale."

"Thank you." They said at the same time.

"Now, who is left that needs a wand?" he asked.

"Just me," Lucinda said anxiously. "I sure hope it doesn't take that long, I mean, how long can picking a wand take? Its not like they have brains or anything." She continued on without stopping, not noticing that Mr. Harry was looking at Cale.

"Don't you want a wand, Cale?" he asked.

"Well…" he started, "I already have one." And with that, he reached behind his back and produced the wand Motoko instantly recognized as being the one in the front window. It was about a foot long, and made of a dull gray material. She could tell it was neither metal nor wood, but somehow a mixture of both.

Mr. Harry stared at him. "Where did you get that," he asked quietly.

"He grabbed it from the front window before that guy came in." said Lucinda before Cale could respond. "By the way, what did that guy say Cale? All I heard was hissing and spitting before…" she trailed off. Motoko was almost surprised to see a momentary flash of remorse on the other girls' face, when she blinked and saw only the happy expression Lucinda always had.

"I wasn't really paying…"

"Back to the subject in hand," interrupted Mr. Harry. "You should put that back before Miss Marie returns and has both our heads." He said in a tone that called for no arguments.

"And what did you take that would make me 'Have your heads?'" said a voice behind them. They all turned and saw Jak and Miss Marie returning from the back, Jak holding a box which must have contained his newly acquired wand.

Cale, looking for all the world like a scared little boy, sheepishly held up the wand. "This"

The was a moment of strained silence with Miss Marie staring at Cale and the wand before her eyes rolled up into her head and she fell to the floor.

Cale and Mr. Harry jumped up and ran over to her, and Cale, in his haste, had dropped the wand. Motoko watched the wand fall as if in slow motion, turning end over end until, with a resounding crack, buried itself six inches into the dingy wooded floor. –It CAN'T be that heavy,- she thought and went over to the wand. Gingerly, she reached out and grabbed the handle. It felt cold to the touch, but not unwelcoming, and, with everything she had, pulled up hard on it.

It resisted at first, but slowly, sweat starting to pour down her face with effort, she managed to pull it out. She was amazed, not only at how heavy the wand was, but how much strength she actually had. Then she realized she wasn't strong at all, but the wand was getting lighter, until it was as light as her own wand. Lucinda was jumping up and down, talking gleefully at her, trying to get her to let her hold it.

"No," she told her. "It's Cale's. I shouldn't even be touching it," and turning from the now pouting (Yet still annoyingly cheerful) Lucinda, she went over to where the three boys were kneeling by Miss Marie. "This is yours," she told Cale; hold out the wand for him to take.

He took it and stowed it away quickly underneath his shirt before turning back to a now conscious Miss Marie. "I'll pay for it," he told her.

She looked at him and Motoko with wonderment in her eyes. "The both of you?" she said in a small voice.

"Excuse me?" the two said at the same time.

"Help me up, and I'll tell you about that wand." All four of them helped her up and took her to one of the chairs. She sat down slowly, still not taking her eyes off Motoko or Cale.

"It came a shock," she began, "That when I bought this store, the former owner told me of that wand. He said it had been here since the previous owner and it was so heavy that no one could move it, let alone buy it. Peaking my interest, I went over and tried to lift it, but found it was too heavy, so I started to examine it. It was made from a tree I have yet to track down, and had many enchantments on it. I went to many historians, wand-makers and herbologists, and no one could tell me what type of wood it was, or who made it. I had given up and resigned myself to just leaving it in the display case until he came."

"Who?" asked Mr. Harry.

"I didn't know his name, but he just looked at the wand for a few minutes before telling me what it was made out of."

"Which is?" asked Cale.

"He said it was made out of an old, rare tree, which he'd been searching for for his entire life. Ironwood. Of course I didn't believe him, Ironwood is a myth to us wand makers."

"What's so special about it?" piped Lucinda

"Well," said Miss Marie. "It's just a myth, but it is said that a wand made of Ironwood cannot be wielded by anyone except it's true owner, and while holding the wand, he or she cannot be Disarmed by spell or deed."

"Well," said Cale softly after a few seconds. "This is turning out to be an interesting turn of events."

Only Motoko heard Mr. Harry, his head in his hands, say: "You have no idea."

After what seemed like forever, the day of departure to the school finally came and no one was more excited than Cale, though that only meant there was a cheerful tone to the edge in his voice. He had already read through most of his books, and was practicing a simple curse when the matron knocked on his door.

"Cale, there's someone here to see you."

"Tell em to go away, I'm busy." He called through the door, thoroughly annoyed at being interrupted. He was really starting to get the hang of the spell he knew would be useful, though he would have to test it on someone to see if he was getting it right.

"Cale!" called a high-pitched voice. "If you don't hurry, you're going to miss the bus!"

"What are you talking about?" he yelled, walking to the door. He cracked it open to get a clear picture of whom he was speaking to, but his attention was drawn straight to the wand being pointed at him. In the second it had taken him to recognize the wand, he heard a spell.

"_Defendo,_" said Lucinda.

He was thrown back about a foot, his left arm high in the air, which was enough for a smiling Lucinda to open the door fully. Putting his arm down he stood and studied the rambunctious girl in front of him. Short brown hair framed the face of an ever-smiling eleven year-old girl, her brown eyes full of mischief that usually meant she took something. "And why am I going to miss the bus?" he asked. He still had his ticket, and knew that there was at least two hours before the departure time.

"You have to get to the pick up point silly," she said. "And we're going to take you with us, seeing as we're all going to the same place."

He groaned at this, knowing he was going to have to put up with not only Lucinda, but also a silent, brooding Jak. Motoko was rich, so he really didn't think she would be taking the bus like the rest of them. Without saying a word, he put his wand in the arm holster Harry had bought him when he got his wand, and grabbed his bags. He was almost to the door when he realized he forgot something.

"Coming?" he asked over his shoulder.

"I'm right here Cale," said Lucinda, slightly confused. "Stop acting like yer blind, I know you can see perfectly well."

"Wasn't talking to you," he told her out of the corner of his mouth. His two cats, Talon and Ko were looking at him with disdain, obviously not keen on a car ride, let alone a long bus ride to Oregon. "I'll be gone for nine months, so I guess you'll have to fend for yourselves since the matron hates cats." He told them.

Talon gave him a look that plainly said that if such a thing were to happen, Cale would regret ever coming back. Stretching lazily, he jumped off the bed, sauntered over to the desk, and grabbed his favorite toy mouse. Ko, meanwhile, meowed loudly, to which Cale guessed was a sign that there had better have good food where they were going or he was going to wish he had left them. After a few seconds of staring at him, Ko also jumped off the bed and retrieved her favorite item, which, surprisingly enough was a small bandana she usually wore as a collar. He knelt down as they both sauntered over and deposited the object into his hand.

Putting the object into his pocket, he got up and made to leave the room, however, Lucinda was in the way, staring at the cats with a misty expression in her eyes. "Um…" he said quietly. "Earth to Lucinda."

She started, realizing where she was and admonished Cale playfully, "Well, don't just stand there," she said. "Lets get going!"

He stood there for a second in shock as she turned and started skipping down the hall to front door, humming a nameless tune. Shaking himself slightly, he started to follow her (though without the skipping), making a mental note to throw something at her later. When he reached the front step, however, he realized that, while insufferable as she may be, he found that he actually liked having her around.

Hefting his backpack more securely onto his back, he grabbed the old wheeled suitcase that held the rest of his things and started down the steps towards the blue and white van. As he reached the van, he noticed Lucinda waving at him from the rear of the vehicle; obviously about to tell him he needed to put his stuff there. He did so, also shedding the over shirt he wore as it was an extremely hot day, and shoved it in a pocket of his pack.

"Thought your hand hurt too much to use it," said a voice.

"Found something to fix that," he said, turning to the voice. There stood an irate Jak, obviously not happy with the arrangements. Standing a good three inches taller than Cale, he would have cowed any other boy Cale's age with his general thuggish looks. Cale knew, that despite the gorilla like body the boy had been blessed with, he was not born with the same intelligence. Jak was observant, thoughtful and picked up on things almost as quickly as Cale did, and now he was looking at Cale as though he was some disgusting thing you found in the dumpster.

"What?" asked Cale.

"No drugs allowed," said Jak.

"Drugs," laughed Cale. "Do you really think drugs are going to help with the pain my hand causes me? You heard Harry, he thinks that my hand was damaged in a magical fire, and no amount of normal drugs would ever quench that type of pain."

"I just thought…" stammered Jak, suddenly looking like a cat caught in the fish bowl.

"Well, for your information," continued Cale, raising his right hand to show Jak his new glove. It was black and smooth, with a slight sheen to it, and was made, from what Harry had told him, dragon skin. "Harry had this glove enchanted for me. He sent it about a week ago. Though…" he trailed off.

"What?" Jak said, looking at the upraised glove.

"It was an exceptionally difficult bit of spell work, so now I have to pay him back."

"Any guesses as to how long that will take?"

"About seven years or so," said Cale, a tone of annoyance in his voice. "He said his daughter wanted a pen pal from the states while she was in school, so now I have to write her every so often."

"You two can continue this conversation in the car!" yelled the woman in the drivers seat.

"Yes mother," Jak called back. "We better get in"

"Right," Cale said.

"So," began Jak as the got in the van. "What spells have you tried?"

The ride to the pick-up point went uneventfully, each of the three discussing the various spells they had tried during their time apart. Cale was amazed at Jak, who had not only mastered the Leg-Locker curse that Cale was currently trying to master, but a bunch of other spells that were in their books. It was if the events at the mall had opened him up a bit, and he marveled at the change in him. Lucinda had changed also, and was practically quiet. Well, quiet for her. Only small sounds were coming from her as she played with Ko with a piece of string, Talon, on the other hand, had wanted no part of Lucinda, and chose to curl up on Cale's lap for the entire trip.

After a short drive, they finally arrived at a dingy looking parking garage near Fremont Street, found a parking spot, and started looking for the benches mentioned on their tickets. Looking for ten minutes, they spotted a set of benches on the lower level, but as they got close, they found them roped off with a "Wet Paint" sign dangling morosely on the ropes.

"Well," Cale said, "Anyone wanna take a bet as to how wet the paint actually is?" With that he walked over to the bench on the end. As he got close, the sign shifted and changed to "Dracos Academy of Magic Pick Up and Drop Point."

The first thought that went through Cale's when he saw the change was that it was a pretty lame way to cover such an area with an obvious ploy. This was quickly smashed when Jak's mother commented on how new students were being forced to sit on benches that would ruin their cloths. So much for being a lame plan, he thought. Most normal people would probably look at the sign and just walk away, never giving it a second thought.

Sighing to himself that he still had a lot to learn, he stepped over the rope, and nearly knocked over someone on the other side. It took him completely by surprise, as he didn't see anyone beyond the robes before he crossed them. He tried to extend his senses passed the ropes, but found only a solid white wall of what he guessed to be magic. This was going to be interesting he thought.

Motoko had been waiting for nearly an hour before she saw them. Cale was moving toward the benches with a purpose, and, to her utter amazement, he had a small cat on his shoulder. He stopped for a second, as if to figure out the sign that she knew changed as soon as you got close to it, and then stepped over the ropes. Right into her. She stumbled back and grabbed the bench for support, cursing his clumsiness.

"You could say you're sorry, you know." She said, straightening he dress. She had picked out this dress to wear just for him, hoping to get him to notice her. When she didn't get a response, she looked up and saw Cale in an almost trance-like state. Oh that tears it, she thought, and with one swift motion she pulled out her wand, pointed at Cale and screamed "_DEFENDO!"_

Blue light shot out of her wand and hit Cale square in the chest, hurling him back over the ropes and onto his back. His white cat had apparently knew what was about to happen and jumped off his shoulder, landing neatly on the bench, where she sat down and started to stare at Motoko with malice.

As she watch Cale scrabble up, her rage was quickly replaced by horror. -I just cursed Cale,- she wailed silently. –Now he will notice me, but probably curse me every chance he gets.- He got up and turned toward her, and she gasped at the murderous look in his face. She started to back up when she hit the bench and fell into a not so neat sitting position, all the while looking in fear at what Cale was doing. He had pulled out his wand and was slowly moving towards her, obviously cautious of what she could do.

She was about to turn and run when she felt pressure on her legs, and, looking down, saw Cale's snow-white cat staring at her. It was smaller than a normal cat, only slightly bigger than a kitten, and had short fur and gray green eyes that seemed to be appraising her. The realization struck her that this cat was actually smarter than any she had seen before, and it was sizing her up as competition.

"Where'd he go, Motoko?" she heard Cale say.

"Who?" she asked without looking up from the cat.

"The guy who jinxed me! Where is he?" he yelled, clearly not trying to maintain control.

"Oh, well," she stammered, looking up at him. "That was… um… well…"

"What?"

"Me."

He stood there for a second, clearly stunned. "You?" he said.

She nodded.

After a few seconds of silence, he said, "Well, are you going to apologize?"

She looked up and saw that he was serious, and all remorse from her actions was burned away in a blaze of anger. "Apologize?! Me apologize?! You thrice blind bottom

feeder, you bumped into me first!"

"Well, excuse me for living! You can't see in here from the other side, and how was I supposed to know you were here. Alls I know is I step over the ropes, and then somebody…." He paused. "Wait a second… Lucinda hit me with the same spell earlier. What did you guys do, meet up and decide today was 'Jinx the living daylights out of Cale' day?"

"_SILENCIO!"_

Both verbal combatants turned and saw Jak, his wand pointed at them. "Now what do we have here?" he said. "A guy who says he can see better than most bumping into a girl, whom, before I heard this tirade, I thought was going to make me sick the way she stared at him." She stopped, staring at them both with disgust. "Look," he continued. "I'm going to lift the spell, and then I want you two to apologize to each other. Otherwise…" he trailed off, swishing his wand in the air.

As soon as the spell was lifted, Jak realized his mistake. Now they were both yelling at him simultaneously, and though Jak could barely understand a word coming out of their mouths, he got the meaning.

Thirty minutes later, Cale was sitting on the bench furthest from the rest, brooding in an uncomfortable silence. Uncomfortable silence, not because of the others giving him the cold shoulder, which they were, but because Jak still hadn't lifted either the Silencing Charm, nor the Leg-Locker Jinx from him. –At least,- he thought viciously, -Motoko is in the same situation.- Almost as soon as the thought finished, however, he regretted it. She was one of the few he had met that didn't look at him like he was a freak. Maybe he should apologize to her.

A few seconds after coming to the decision, he felt a tingling in his pocket. He reached in and grabbed his bus ticket, which was glowing faintly blue, steadily getting brighter, and words were forming over the instructions.

A Bus to the Future Never Stops.

_A/N: Before you start yelling at me that I spelled 'Diffindo' wrong, I will point out that it isn't the same spell. I recently took it upon myself to find an English to Latin translation site and started making up some spells (or, in some cases, giving words to spells JKR used but never actually said their incantation). 'Defendo' is actually translated as Repulse, which is what the spell is. Also note that this will probably be the last time you see or here from Harry for a long time. He was added for a purpose, and he will reappear, if not in this story, in its continuation._

_Calebkir_


	4. Chapter 4: A bee Finnesse

_A/N: I do not own the world or any of JKR's characters. However, the settings, plot and new faces are entirely mine _

Chapter Four: A Bee Finesse

-Those two, - thought Jak, - Are going to wish they never started yelling. – Jak was annoyed. In his eleven years of life, Jak almost never got annoyed. Usually the look on his face was enough to scare anyone into stopping what he or she was doing. Annoying Jak once made people think twice before doing it again. The two in question, Cale and Motoko, were now sitting with they're backs to each other on opposite ends on the waiting area. They had made the mistake of continuing their fight, though not with each other. Jak had gotten an earful, and though he understood little of what was screamed at him, he wondered if they even knew the meaning of some of the words they used. In the end, he shut them up with the silencing charm he found, used a simple curse and moved them to their current positions. All in all, he was pleased with the result. It had given him half an hour of peace and quiet, and he used the time to read a book he had picked up at the mall.

He was thoroughly engrossed in his basic transfiguration book when he realized he felt really tired. – Maybe, - he thought, - holding the silence charm is draining me more than I realized. So it is a little advanced, but hey, it got the job done. – He kept thinking of the tiring effect of holding a spell too advanced for him for a few moments before realizing he was dozing in his seat. It was a comfortable feeling, and he wasn't about to stop it.

CRACK 

Lucinda was being quiet. She was playing with one of Cale's cats with a toy mouse, and she was having a blast. The small black cat seemed to know what she was thinking, always one step ahead when she tossed the mouse in a random direction, catching it in his mouth, and with unerring accuracy, threw it back to her. After a good twenty minutes of playing, the cat got tired of throwing the mouse, picked it up, and settled into Lucinda's lap. It amazed her the trust the animal had given her, and was hit with the notion that it gave the same trust (if not more) to Cale. She couldn't think of anything the boy liked, he was rude, erratic and not all together nice. She began to wonder if he was like some of the guys in the movies she had seen. They always hated people except for a select few, to which they were unimaginably loyal.

She looked up at Cale and wondered if she was in the select few, and saw the strangest sight: Cale was holding his wand up over the bench.

A Bus to the Future Never Stops.

Cale thought about those words for a second before he realized they only had one chance to get on the bus, and if anyone missed it, there were going to be problems. He tried calling out to Jak and Lucinda, but found he still made no more noise than a soft breeze. He tried everything he could think of, pounding on the bench, waving, even throwing out rude hand gestures, nothing worked. Panicking a bit, he looked down and his watch. Two minutes left. – Desperate times, - he thought, and grabbed his wand. He realized he wouldn't be able to cast a spell, but that really didn't matter as he had yet to learn the counter for the charm, so he thought of another option.

His arm at shoulder level, he held the wand parallel to the bench, thinking if this didn't get their attention, nothing would. Mentally closing his eyes, he readied himself for the pain he knew was going to result from this, and dropped the wand.

There was a resounding crack as the wand slammed into the bench, folding it in on itself. The wood of the bench separated from the metal frame and Cale was thrown unceremoniously onto the ground. Getting up quickly, he realized the spells Jak had used on him had ended.

"The bus is coming, grab your stuff!" he said, frantically grabbing his bags.

"What are you…" began Motoko, also free of the spells.

"Don't argue, just do!" he yelled. Soon as the words came out of his mouth, he heard a horn unlike any car horn he had heard. It was more like a boat horn than anything, and for a second he wondered if the bus was actually a boat. Quickly glancing around, he didn't see a boat or a bus, but noticed his largest bag twenty feet away. Lugging the weight of his other bag, he made his way to it. When he finally reached it, the horn sounded again. Turning, he saw the front of a large yellow bus with black stripes coming out of the wall on the other side of the waiting area, heading straight for them. It wasn't stopping.

Closing his senses, he waited for the inevitable pain, but as soon as he did, he felt a small pull at his stomach, and a larger wrench as he was pulled off the ground and slammed onto a hard floor. Tentatively reaching out his senses, he found himself, along with Motoko, Jak, and Lucinda in a small room with eight chairs and long deep shelves above them.

"Welcome aboard the A.B.F.N.S." said a voice. Since no one else was in the room, Cale guess it was being transmitted from a hidden speaker. It stopped for a second, as though to make sure everyone was listening. "We, the teachers of Dracos Academy of Magic, welcome you to a new year of learning. The length of time to the school will be ten hours, thirty-seven minutes, and forty-seven seconds. Please note that there is no magic in the corridors while on A.B.F.N.S. and any wrongdoing will result in detention. Lunch will be served at eleven, and will be eaten in your designated cabin. You are free to explore the bus, but do not disturb the driver and pay listen to all class leader instructions. Have a pleasant trip."

"That was insane." Cale muttered. "Who ever thought up this idea should be drug out to the street and shot." That earned him a few nervous chuckles.

Getting up, he grabbed his bags and shoved them none to neatly on the shelf above the seats. Once this was done, he turned and sat in the chair, noticing at once a red oak wand pointed at him.

"Going to be civil?" asked Jak, holding his wand.

-Going to stop bossing me around? – he thought. Cale knew, after the 'punishment' while waiting on the bus, that Jak was serious. Not trusting himself to speak he nodded, and Jak promptly turned his wand onto Motoko.

"And you?" he asked her.

Motoko was picking herself up off floor, and, after a second, it registered that there was a wand pointed at her. Giving him a look that would have made a nuclear explosion jealous of its killing power, she nodded quickly and turned to put he stuff on the shelf.

It took everyone ten minutes to get situated, and afterwards, sat down and stared at each other in silence. Lucinda was the first to break the awkward moment.

"So," she said, "How long have you had your cats Cale?"

"As long as I can remember." He replied, looking at them. Ko had a magnificent shiny black coat, which he kept very clean. It was a little surprising to see him so close to Lucinda, as he and Talon usually went out of their way to avoid people. He did a quick, mental search and found Talon on Motoko's lap, staring into her eyes. Motoko was petting her and plainly noticed that she was not responding to the petting. Cale knew better however. Watching the white cat for a second, he noticed her small paws moving in and out, her black toes moving in a steady rhythm that could only mean restrained pleasure. He had the feeling Talon was sizing Motoko up, and was pleased by what she saw.

The silence broken, they began to discuss everything about everything. What the school was like, where they were sleeping and how many people went there. By the time lunch time came around, both Talon and Ko had returned to his side, eating out of a small dish he had brought with him, and each human in the room was hungry.

"Well, guess it's time to go get something to eat," said Jak, getting up.

"Yeah, I'm starving!" squeaked Lucinda, following him out the door.

After a minute, Cale looked up from his cats and noticed Motoko hadn't left with the others. "Well?" he asked.

"I'm not hungry." She replied, not even looking at him.

"Bull. You are and you know it."

She stared at him, thin lines of furry slowly coming across her face. "And how would you know? You, the arrogant little piece of crap! You only care about yourself, what you've been through, how your life is so god damn miserable that you have to play it off like everyone around you has done it to you personally! So how in the hell can you tell me that you know…"

"How do I know?" he interrupted. She had stood up and was slowly advancing on him, before she got half way, however, he too stood up. He knew this would go on until someone stopped it, and resolved himself to the worst. "It's easy. You can't lie"

"I can't lie? What sort of bull is that?"

"Oh I'm not saying the words coming out of your mouth can be untruthful, quite the opposite. You can't make a believable lie, with all your emotions resting on your shoulder." He was amazed at how calm he was. He wasn't even shouting and getting her to back down. He knew that he himself had had a rough life, what with no parents and no real friends. He knew what the world was, and had acted accordingly. Here was a spoiled little rich girl who thought that life was so grand, that there was nothing that couldn't be solved by a little manipulation and a lie or two. "So, now that…"

He was interrupted by a loud crash. Looking over, he saw the door had flown open, and standing there, like it was the most pleasant spot on the entire bus, were two slightly older kids he did not know.

Motoko was speechless. A second ago, she was yelling at the top of her lungs at the arrogance of this kid, and then, with a calmness born from who knew where, he had told her why her lies were so detectable. He was about to continue, when the door smashed open. –Great,- she thought. –Here comes Jak to shut us both up and put us in their place.- She turned, and saw two people that were not Jak and Lucinda, but a boy and a girl, both trying to hold back their laughter.

"Oh, don't stop on our account." Said the boy. He was slightly shorter than Cale, with dark brown, close-cropped hair spiked in all directions. "It's not everyday that we get to see an argument by a blind kid and an albino get into a fight."

Motoko quickly glanced at the Cale. He had his head slightly tilted to the side as if in confusion, as if the comment was didn't make sense to him. After a second, however, he lowered his head and spoke with a soft voice.

"I'm not blind."

"Then what are you doing wearing a rag over your eyes?" the girl asked, her voice grating on Motoko's ears. –Musical saws would sound better than her voice.- Motoko thought. -Probably would look better to, judging by how ugly she is.- She was dead-on on her assessment. Short brown hair covered a fat head that came with a fat body, with short, stubby arms and equally short legs. She looked like a badly made meat bun.

"None of your damn business." Said Cale, obviously letting them get to him. "Now, if you please, leave us before your idiocy becomes contagious."

-Oh great,- Motoko thought, -This is going to turn ugly fast.- Ever so slowly, she moved her hand to her wand handle located in a specially made pocket in her jeans. She had wondered where she was going to carry her wand around without it being too much of a problem, when she thought of some dress pant she had seen with pockets on the thigh. After that, all she needed to do was a little bit of sewing to her pants to make the pockets the right size, just in case she needed to grab it without anyone noticing.

And she was right. The boy grabbed his wand and pointed it at Cale's face, who, with a surprising burst of speed, stepped forward past the wand, reached up and put his right hand on the back of the boys neck, trapping the arm and the wand between Cale's shoulder and head. A grimace of pain shot across Cale's face as he turned on the spot, while forcibly lowering his arm, flipping the unsuspecting boy onto his back.

Watching all of this with amazement, Motoko almost forgot about the girl. Looking up, she saw her grab her wand and point it at Cale. With a quickness to match Cale's, Motoko pulled her wand, and screamed '_DEFENDO'_, causing the girl to be lifted off her feet and slammed into the corridor wall, where she lay, whimpering and clutching the back of her head.

"Nice," said Cale, before turning back to the boy and pointing his wand at the boys face. "Now, after all these years of dealing with stuck up bullies, I've learned a trick or two," He told the boy. "And as you can see, they're quite effective. Now, I take it you are going to get up, leave this cabin, right?"

The boy, thoroughly humiliated, could only nod.

"Good." Said Cale. He stood up and let the boy scramble through the door and down the hall, leaving the girl to whimper where she lay. Muttering something under his breath, he walked over and slammed the door.

Motoko stood and stared at Cale, who turned and faced her. "I'm sorry for what happened in the waiting area," he said after a moment.

Taken aback, Motoko could only nod and mumble her own apology. She realized that this is what he was going to say before they were so rudely interrupted. It made sense to her then, why he was calm when she was yelling at him, she just didn't want to see it. Her own trials in her life told her that this was someone who would not apologize, but he had surprised her. There was more to him behind that blind-fold than she gave him credit for, but something was nagging her.

"Well, now that the tension is about as thick as we can get it," he said. "How about you go get some…"

"You color blind aren't you?" the words streamed out of her mouth as the thought hit her. That was why he didn't treat her any different, he couldn't tell what she was.

"Mmmm… no" he replied. "Well, for the most part, no. I can see color though not skin color. Shouldn't make a difference what color your skin is anyway."

Motoko stared at him. She knew that he hated when people assumed that he was blind just because of the blind-fold, and yet, he didn't hold anything on people. It was like everyone started with a clean slate with him, and their actions and words determined whether or not he even spoke with them. For a moment, she envied him. To be so innocent, yet so mature was something anyone would give anything to become, and he did it naturally.

He was still talking to her, but she really didn't care at the moment. Reaching up towards her bag, she pulled out her journal, and began to write about the day as Cale lapsed into silence. After a few minutes, she heard the door open, and, looking up, she saw a harassed looking Jak enter the cabin followed by a happy Lucinda, each carrying two Styrofoam boxes. The smell coming from the boxes reminded her of the simple breakfast she had eaten that morning, and she wished that she had eaten more.

"Well, I mean, he was nice and all, but why did he give us that look?" Lucinda said. "Especially when we asked for two boxes each. I mean they're actually quite small, how can there be enough food in three let alone one to fill me up?" she continued with her questions and thoughts at her usual high rate of speed, and Motoko knew that her constant commentary was what was annoying Jak. Sighing to herself, she closed her journal, and was about to get up to go get some food when she was stopped by a loud bang.

"Now that was cool!" squeaked Lucinda, her voice filled with joy. Turning, Motoko saw that Jak was sitting on one of the chairs with a large tray on his lap filled with food. There were two sandwiches and a hamburger accompanying fries, chips and a small bowl of applesauce. It all looked delicious, freshly made and smelled wonderful.

"Now that was unexpected," said Jak.

"That was in two boxes?" asked Motoko, her eyes wide with wonder.

"One," replied Lucinda. "Now we know why that guy was staring at us!"

"How…" Motoko trailed off. She knew the answer before she asked. Magic. Even Cale was looking at Jak's food in wonderment, and little thought was to why, as few seconds later, they heard a loud rumble coming from the thin boy.

"Here you go, Cale." Jak said, passing him his other box.

Cale took the box and began examining it. It was, as Lucinda had said, quite small, only five inches long and three inches wide, and, as far as Motoko could see, had no lid or instructions printed on it.

"Just tap it with your wand," said Jak, swallowing a bite of his sandwich. Cale complied, and he instantly had a meal exactly like Jak's.

"This is amazing," said Cale.

"Hell yeah!" the others said, and after tapping their own boxes, (Lucinda had given her the extra one), they all ate the magical lunches, discussing between bites what they would learn at the new school.

After all the food was gone, Motoko waited for a lull in the conversation, and upon finding it, turned to Cale. "Will you show me that move you did to that boy?" She asked.

"That move?" he asked. He looked at her for a few seconds before comprehension dawned on his face. "Oh, THAT move!"

"What are you two talking about?" ask Jak.

Motoko looked at Cale for a moment before telling the others about the encounter with the pair. "And then he was on the ground, with Cale pointing his wand to his face. Which reminds me Cale, what were you going to do to him? I didn't think you knew any spells"

"It was a bluff," he said simply.

"It worked," Motoko said.

"Yeah, well…" he said, looking at the other two. "All right, I'll show you, but…"

"But what?"

"There's no one to demonstrate with."

"Are you on crack?" said Jak after the shock left him, "There's three other people in here, and, personally, I want to see this move up close and personal."

"It's different when the one you flipping is taller than you though, and I'll be damned if I'm going to hurt a girl." said Cale.

"I can take it," Motoko said quickly.

"As can I," piped Lucinda.

After looking at each on of them, Cale finally conceded the point. "Okay, I'll show you. However, I'm only going to show you once, so don't ask me later." After they all agreed, Cale asked Jak to stand and face him with his wand pointed at him. Before he began, he asked Jak one final time. "Are you sure?"

"Just do it," said Jak.

Before the last word had left Jak's lips, Cale was moving. Motoko had no distractions this time, and saw every move he made. Taking a step forward, Cale ducked under the wand and stood back up, placing his hand on the back of Jak's neck, trapping the entire arm between Cale's neck and shoulder. Twisting slightly, Cale brought up his knee and planted it solidly into Jak's stomach, driving the wind from the boy. Reversing the twist and bringing his right arm down, Cale had his opponent on the floor, and a surprised Jak was gaping at Cale in astonishment.

"One cheetah flip, made to order," smiled Cale.

"And now that we've seen such a marvelous display," said an unknown voice, and Motoko looked up and saw an adult, and she didn't look happy.


	5. Chapter 5: Arrival

_Disclaimer: I don't own the universe or the characters this was inspired by, that is the privilege of JKR. The setting(s), character(s), and plot is my own._

Chapter five: Arrival

There was a lot to do as the bus meandered it's way across the western states, and all of Quaint Firehare's attentions were on only one of the many things tasked to her by the Dean. All of the tasks were of the mundane variety, and usually took up only an hour of her time, after which she would bask in the few hours of freedom that came from the summer months. In a few short hours, she would be back in her classroom, teaching snot nosed kids that what they had learned about Defense from their parents was pure crap. But now, there was a problem. There had been a small fight in one of the first grade cabins, and now she was off to give detention to those who caused it.

If it was her first trip on the bus, she would have been impressed by the spell work needed to make a normal looking bus this big. Belaying the size on the outside, the bus actually had two floors, one fore the first three years, and another for the upper classmen. Each floor had twenty spacious cabins that could fit no less than eight students per, though few, if any, were filled to capacity. A hallway ran along side the cabins and in the back was a small shop where the students bought their lunch, and bathrooms were spaced at every forth cabin. The walls were all colored in the drab color you would normally see on a bus and it was one of the missions of the teachers to keep it that way.

As she walked down the corridor, the mental picture of the fight came to the front of her mind. Grisay Reaver had walked into her cabin on the top level complaining that two first graders had started a fight with him and his sister. After describing the two as a boy with long black hair and a bandana, and a white girl, he told of the unprovoked attack on his sister and how he was flipped on his back and a wand pointed at his face. Quaint knew Grisay and his sister, Celes, were trouble makers and bullies, and this spoke of a set up to get the two new kids in trouble. If anything, she thought the new kids had simply ignored them and Grisay wanted to make an example of them.

These thoughts ran through her mind as she approached the door, and with one hand on the handle, she paused to listen.

"It's different when the one you flipping is taller than you though, and I'll be damned if I'm going to hurt a girl," said one. She peered through the window and saw the speaker to be a skinny eleven-year-old boy with long, black hair and a red bandana wrapped around his eyes. It was a wonder that he could see at all, as the bandana didn't look to be all that thin.

"I can take it," said a girl. Quaint thought that Grisay had hit the mark when he said "white" girl, as she was pure white. That didn't take away anything from her looks. In fact, unless Quaint was mistaken, she would grow up and turn more than a few heads, her condition would only enhance the wonder.

"As can I," said another, plainer looking girl. This one had the air of being on a sugar high. She was always moving, always looking around as though she had energy enough for three people.

"Okay, I'll show you. However, I'm only going to show you once, so don't ask me later." He said, then paused for a second to wait for the others to accept that, stood and faced another, bigger boy. The bigger boy had curly red hair and looked massive compared to the smaller child, though if the smaller one was nervous of him, he didn't show it.

"Are you sure?" the smaller boy asked the larger.

"Just do it," the large boy replied, to which the smaller boy leapt into action, and with a grunt of pain, the larger of the two was on his back, his face puzzled as to how he got there. Quaint was mildly impressed with the display, as not many would have the reflexes or the accuracy to pull off such a move, let alone block it. Seeing the move, however, also confirmed Grisay's story, and she wasn't too terribly pleased at the fact.

"And now that we've seen such a marvelous display," she said as she walked in the cabin.

The cheetah flip completed, Cale looked down and the prone Jak and inwardly congratulated himself. It was the fourth time in his life he had actually used the maneuver and only the second on a much larger opponent. Throughout his short life, bullies had always picked on him, and, being small as he was, he needed some defense. His speed got him away from most of the bullies, but was little help against those that could catch him, so he invented this move. More of a distraction than a move that could take out his opponent, he used it in combination with his speed to get away from the faster of the thugs.

As he helped Jak up, he heard a voice from behind him, and, thinking it was one of the two from earlier, spun around and drew his wand, pointing it at the now open door. He was momentarily shocked to see an adult looking at him with unrepressed fury etched on her face. The shock was magnified when she quickly pulled out her wand and yelled "_Expelliarmus!"_

An unseen force hit his wand and snapped his arm back, causing him to trip over a kneeling Jak to land hard on the floor. Turning over so that he was propped on his elbows, he was slightly amused to see the woman still standing there with a dash of confusion mixed in with the fury in her face. He waited patiently for her to speak first, for it would probably do him no favors to piss this woman off even more.

"How dare you draw a wand at a teacher!" she hissed

-Ah shit, - thought Cale. –Well, at least I didn't get my hopes up of a good life. -

"Now," she continued. "Give me your wand and then we'll discuss your punishment for this and for starting a fight." With that she held her hand out as though she expected him to comply with such a ridiculous demand. Well, if anything, he wasn't going to give something up so special as his wand. It was the first item he ever received on his own that wasn't given out of pity or kindness, but it was something he had earned. It was stretching the word earned a bit, although he really didn't care either way. It was his, and god help anyone trying to take it away from him.

Knowing that this woman's reaction to his response was not going to be pretty, he steeled himself for the worst, and said "No."

A second went by and he didn't hear the expected explosion, so he waited. Thirty seconds later, he heard the voice of barely controlled anger saying, "Excuse me?"

"I said no," he said. "Not yes, though not because I think that disobeying a teacher is fun. I have my reasons for not giving it, so do what you need to do and leave us alone."

All in all, he could be handling this better, but if this woman wanted to be nasty, he could to. She was nearing the edge of her rage, and was almost shaking with it. One, maybe two more pushes and she would be over the edge, and when she snapped, his ticket out of trouble would be guaranteed. The plan that formed had many flaws, and most of them came in play if he had this teacher for any of his classes.

"Explain," she said.

Thinking it best not to lie, he tried a bit of the truth. "Ironwood," he told her.

"Now what does a god forsaken myth have to do with…" She trailed off after Cale had raised his wand to show her. Her eyes locked on to the wand and started growing bigger by the second. A minute passed and no sound escaped from he lips, so Cale took advantage of the situation.

"If this was about this fight earlier, we didn't start it, hell, we were willing to ignore them, but they drew their wands on us. Now, from your reaction I take it that is not a good thing to be doing, so I suggest you go ask them."

The teacher stared at his wand for another second before shaking her head. "No, I don't see the need." Her voice had none of the rage that was prominent a moment ago, and Cale wondered if the shock of his wand had erased it. "I will go talk to them and punish them accordingly. Now, what is your name and the other name of whomever was involved?"

"Cale Firefist," he said. "And I was the only one involved in the fight."

"Are you sure?" She asked. "I was told this girl over here," she pointed to Motoko "was also involved."

"Just me."

"Very well," she said after a moment. "I will be by later to discuss your punishment. Even if you were in the right, it still does mean you can hurt another student for threatening you." And with that, she turned and left.

Cale let out a sigh of relief. It could've been much worse, but he was still on the bus, and still heading towards his new school. Still thinking of the bullet that he had dodged, he began to sit up fully, as he had been on his elbows for the entire conversation, when he felt his hand throb. He held back a yelp of pain and started to clear himself a seat.

"Are you alright, Cale?" said Motoko. "You look a little pale."

"I am pale."

"I meant more than usual." She stated. She was probably right. The pain, coupled by that tense conversation and the threat of being thrown off the bus had taken a lot out of him once the adrenaline had worn off.

"I'm fine," he said finally getting in to his seat. He sat there for a few minutes thinking about the encounter with the teacher when he realized he still had his wand in his hand. He had found out when he was at the mall that it needed to be in contact with his skin at all times or it would become the bench-crushing paperweight that it once was. After he had acquired the wand and found this little factoid out, Harry had the wand maker make him a holster for his left arm that would still allow contact with his skin. It was a good thing too, since the alternative, being the waistband of his jeans, was risky if he missed. He sighed softly and put the wand in its half holster on his upper right arm, and looked to immerse himself in his Basic Spell Casters book.

After an hour of reading, he set the book down to find Jak showing the two girls how to play poker, and, upon deciding he had nothing better to do, joined in the fun. All too soon the time for arrival approached, and as they got close, a tense atmosphere gripped the cabin.

"We will be arriving at Dracos Academy of Magic in five minutes," the intercom spoke suddenly, making them all jump. "All new students will remain in their cabin until a teacher comes to escort them into the school."

"Five minutes," said Lucinda as she rushed to the window. "I bet we can see what the school looks like!"

Cale was betting on the same thing and joined her to peer out into the darkness, only to find the same sort of white wall that surrounded the waiting area in the parking garage.

"Great," he said with all the acid he could.

"What Cale?"

"Same as the garage," he said, sitting down in his seat.

"What?" said Motoko. "You can't see it?"

"Nope, can only see white."

"Well, take off that bandana, silly," Lucinda chirped.

"Um, no. Once a year is alright for me thanks," he replied.

"Come on Cale," said Jak. "We really do not care the way your eyes are."

"Nor do I, but others will, and no amount of convincing, bargaining or begging is going to make me remove it unless it is truly necessary."

"Suit yourself," came Jaks reply.

"I've never seen anything like it!" said Lucinda. "I mean, I've seen buildings, but this! Look, those look like they're connected, and, WOW! Look at that stadium."

After a minute of this, Cale tuned her out, and began to pull in his senses. He knew if he didn't, he'd try and take in everything at once, and would probably end up with a massive headache later. Normally he let his senses go how they wanted, which usually gave him three hundred and sixty degree's of clear picture, but in times like this, he wanted what amounted to be "normal" sight. As he finished, the bus came to a halt, and Cale heard the footsteps of the older students disembark off of the bus. -Now, - he thought. -My life changes. -

As the bus stopped in front of the school, Motoko's first thought was who built such a marvelous place? The front steps leading up to many double doors were made of marble, and the doors themselves look not to be made of glass, but of pure crystal. The building itself was one story tall and was made out of a material that she couldn't identify from this distance, although she would guess it wasn't brick. Flanking the entrance were two, three story buildings of the same material, extending at a forty-five degree angle ten feet from its edge giving her a feeling of being on the wrong side of a funnel.

"I really never get tired of looking at it myself," said a voice suddenly, causing Motoko to nearly jump out of her skin. Turning quickly, she saw a smiling old man with a white beard and bushy white eyebrows. He looked no taller than Jak, and was, for lack of a better term, fat, though that didn't describe him really.

"I'm terribly sorry for startling you, please accept my apologies," he said in a sweet, grandfatherly way. "But we really must be going. No, there is no need to grab your things, they will be brought to your rooms before you get there," he said as Jak reached up to grab his bags.

They exited the cabin and began to walk along the corridor to the end of the bus, where they disembarked to a cool summers night. "Now," the man said. "Please go up the steps, and through the doors, and there you will find other new students. Another teacher will be along to collect you for the distribution process. Good evening to you all," and with a slight flourish, he turned and walked toward one of the three story buildings.

A little startled by the sight of the school, and the man's quick disappearance, Motoko looked around. Multiple yellow and black striped busses were slowly moving away from the sixty or so new students, on whom had looks of nervousness plastered on their faces. She turned to he companions for the trip, and saw all but Lucinda with the same look.

"Hey, snap out of it," she said.

Cale responded with something she couldn't quite hear.

"What Cale?" she asked the nervous looking boy.

He looked up at her, and took a deep breath. "Well, lets go," he said, as he started walking up the stairs to the crystal double doors.

Motoko followed him up the short flight of steps and followed Cale into a grand hallway. Nearly empty display cases lined any part of the wall where there wasn't a door, and only one display case had anything in it. Looking closely, she found five trophies inside; all labeled with seven names and titled Quidditch Championship Cup. -Quidditch must be a sport, and these are the winners, - she thought. She had never wanted to join in any sports activities, though she was curious as to what wizards could invent.

After a few minutes, she wandered back over to where Cale and Lucinda were, the former pretending to listen to the latter as she talked at a high rate of speed. Motoko was about to jump in to the conversation about Cale's cats; the black one was sitting on his shoulder, when her eyes caught the sight of a woman entering the room. She nudged Cale and Lucinda and gestured over to where the woman was.

The woman was dressed in an elegant gown clearly made of fine light green silk, and hugged a every curve of her body. She looked to be about thirty years old and carried herself as though the whole of the place belonged to her, walking not to fast as to think she was in a rush, but not to slow as if she were taking her time. She stopped in the middle of the wall near the half filled trophy case and started to talk in a soft voice that carried throughout the hall nonetheless.

"Welcome new students to Dracos Academy of Magic," she said. "Before we distribute you to your houses, I would like to introduce myself tell you a bit of history, so that you better understand the inherent dangers of the grounds."

Motoko was taken aback. How could there be dangers in a school? There was muttering around her that told her she wasn't the only one to take the news as such. Cale wore no expression on his face and looked to be concentrating on every word she said, while Lucinda just smiled and looked like she was about to go on the biggest adventure in her life.

"My name," she continued after the muttering subsided. "Is Dr. Hayle Ashford, and I am the dean of this school. While here, you will live, eat and learn with your classmates, and sleep in your house dormitories. As for the school itself, please note that, while it is as of this time, a school, it was once a military base that has recently been converted into a place where young people such as yourselves can learn in an environment free of persecution by blood, race or physical attributes. We are all equal here in the fact that we wish to expand the gifts that were given to us, and any prejudice should be left at the door."

"As I said, this facility was once a military base, donated to the government, and has, for the most part, been cleansed of any devious enchantments or spells which may cause bodily harm. There are a few things you should note, however. One is the randomness of a few of the doors. At times, they will lead to the place you need to go, and at other times, to where you do not want to be. Also any unusual spell activity should be reported to the faculty immediately, as it could be harmful to anyone who gets caught in it."

"And now," she said after a moment to catch her breath. "If you will follow me, we will distribute you to your houses."

All the new students followed her to the end of the hall and through a set of door to another room. The room was big enough that everyone fit, though with out much breathing room to spare. Dr. Ashford was standing in the far corner of the room next to an old stone arch. The arch looked about a thousand years old and had what Motoko guessed was arcane runes along every inch of it.

"I am about to hand you each a card, which you will hold in your dominant hand when you pass through the arch. This arch is called the Arch of Houses," she explained seeing the looks of trepidation on the children's faces, "and when you pass through it with a card the arch will find a place for you in the school's five houses. You will know what house you are in by the color of the card. This card is also used for your schedule and detentions, should you be unfortunate to acquire any. After you pass through the arch, please seat yourselves at the table that matches your color. Do not lose these cards, for you will not receive another."

She passed a student up front a large stack of cards, and Motoko was pleased a few minutes later when she was handed one of her own. She looked at the small white card as if it were made of pure gold; this was her ticket into the magical world. She knew that she was a part of the world as soon as she read the letter, but this made it all the more real to her. She wondered how it could be used for her schedule and the like when there were no words written on it, but was surprised to find the answer standing next to her.

"What a load of crap," said Cale. Motoko looked at her friend and saw his face looking at the card with not a little disgust. Looking down at the card, she saw there was writing on the card, and the reason why he looked at it so.

_Cale Firefist_

_Detention, Monday, 7pm, Library_

Motoko declined to say a word, as her card was mercifully blank, and figured that fact would enrage him even more.

"Now that everyone has their cards," said the doctor, "in an orderly fashion, walk through the arch and down the hall to the dining area. If you have any questions, feel free to stay behind, and I will try to answer them as quickly as possible."

The room started to empty, and Motoko figure she would wait on Cale, as it looked as he was going to give Dr. Ashford a piece of his mind. Motoko was going to stop him from going to far, as she didn't want one of the few people in the world that treated her nicely to be kicked out of school. Lucinda, torn between the people she came with and the curiosity the was the arch, stood still for five minutes (a new record) before skipping along through the arch. After everyone had crossed the arch, they approached Dr. Hayle, Cale with the intent on ripping into her, and Motoko with the intent of stopping him.

"I am guessing that the two of you are wondering if the arch is safe for your respective kittens," she started with an amused expression on her face. "So let me put your fears to rest, nothing will happen to them."

"What are you talking about," Motoko asked. "I don't have a cat."

"Then miss," replied Dr. Ashford. "What is that on your shoulder?"

"What's what on…" she looked on her shoulder, and nearly jumped out of her skin, for there, draped on her shoulder like it was in heaven, and weighing almost nothing, was Talon, Cale's white cat. "Cale! What do you think I am? A cat carrier?!"

"Oh no," he said, obviously not trying to laugh. "She does what she wants, and I ain't going to stop her because, personally, I do not want to wake up tomorrow and find that I have become a human scratching post."

Motoko bristled with indignation, while Dr. Ashford laughed softly, whether at Motoko's reaction or Cale's comments, Motoko couldn't decide. Thinking the Cale could get along with the dean by himself, she straightened herself, smoothed out her dress, and walked purposefully through the arch.

Watching the young girl walk through the arch, Dr. Ashford saw herself as she herself went through such an arch. It wasn't in this school, as it was way too young for that, but back in Salem, at the famous Salem Witches Institute. The arch was salvaged after the war had tragically destroyed the school, and had been placed here as a tool for the army stationed here to divide up living quarters.

AS the nostalgia passed, she turned to her new student, and was not surprised to she a cold look on his face. "Before you start ranting," she said, cutting him off before his mouth was half open, "You should know that because of your honesty and the fact that you covered for your friend has reduced your detention from one week to one day. Please don't make us regret the decision."

He stared at her for a second, obviously taken aback before asking "What about the other two? Wait, never mind, I don't want to know." Giving a slight bow, he walked to the arch and began to walk through it. The second he passed the arch completely, every last rune blazed with crimson fire.

-Well, - Dr. Ashford mused to herself, hardly bothered by the occurrence, -Should be an interesting year…-


End file.
